The Empower Monument


(National Mall, Washington D.C. - Between the WWII Memorial & Washington Monument)


The Proposal:

The monument that I conceived is a tribute to all of us. We see monuments being built for others but this monument was designed to honor those who deserve recognition but haven't succeeded to do so. It consists of two separate areas: 'me' and 'us'.

The 'us' section includes a big screen where photos that users submit using a hashtag (#EmpowerMonDC) are displayed, the reason for this is to bring monuments to the 21st century, make them more about the present and with a constant update of the wall there will always be something new to see. The 'me' section consists of a mirrored floor and a one-sided mirror (people inside the monument see their reflections whereas people outside see visitors looking at them), this created an interactive experience between visitors.

The monument has a completely different architectural style that most monuments in the DC area: a variety of shapes (circles, curves, triangles...) and materials (glass and wood panels) challenge the established geometrical convention and create a contrast with the white marble.

I see this as an interactive monument, it takes full advantage of today's technology and this challenges completely how monuments are seen (antique). It is placed in this location to take full advantage of the numbers of people that walk there, I initially thought about placing it near the Vietnam Memorial but that idea was immediately disregarded.


Ideas:

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Promotional Poster:

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Unlike most posters, I decided to not include the monument because I want to leave the viewer wondering what the monument looks like. The words placed in the poster give hints about the purpose of the monument and I believe that the words 'us' and 'you' create an attachment between the visitor and the monument.


Monument On-Site:

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Monument Overview Video:






Monument Renderings:

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